Cricket

Not MS Dhoni! Meet Only Indian Cricketer To Be Conferred With Bharat Ratna

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6 months ago

July 8, 2024

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Not MS Dhoni! Meet Only Indian Cricketer To Be Conferred With Bharat Ratna

Updated Jul 8, 2024, 19:10 IST

MS Dhoni is the most successful captain in Indian cricket’s history and he led the team to title wins in all three ICC tournaments played during his time. Apart from excelling in white-ball cricket, Dhoni also did wonders in Tests and captained India to the top spot in the ICC rankings for the first time in 2009.

MS Dhoni captained India to three ICC title wins. Photo: AP

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

MS Dhoni captained to three ICC title wins
India also climbed to the top spot in the Test rankings
Dhoni retired from international cricket in 2020

India legend Sunil Gavaskar made a big demand after India’s 2024 T20 World Cup win and asked the Government of India to confer Rahul Dravid with Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award. Dravid was the head coach of Team India that won the 2024 T20 World Cup under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy. Dravid’s stint came to an end after the ICC event.

Writing in his column for mid-day, Gavaskar wrote that Rahul Dravid deserves the highest accolade the country can give. The Government of India has conferred Dravid with Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan to Dravid for his contribution to the country as a player.

Many former players from different sports have been conferred with Padma awards by the Government of India but there is only one player who has also been honoured with Bharat Ratna.

While many would be thinking that Ms Dhoni , who captained India to title wins in all three ICC trophies played during his time, was conferred with the award, that’s not the case.

Sachin Tendulkar is the only cricketer to be conferred with the top honour. Regarded as the God of cricket, Sachin was conferred with the award when he ended his iconic cricketing career in November 2013. The government honoured Sachin with the Bharat Ratna announcement and he was bestowed with it in February 2014.

Sachin is probably the most iconic cricketer India has ever produced. The Master Blaster was a cult figure and people used to worship him. He continues to hold oodles of records despite retiring from the game 11 years ago. Sachin is the highest run-scorer in international cricket and the most capped player in the game. Sachin made his India debut aged 16 and had a 24-year-long career for India.

Talking of Dhoni, he also had a legendary career for Team India. Dhoni is the only captain in cricket’s history to win all three white-ball trophies. He captained India to title wins in the 2007 T20, 2011 ODI and 2013 Champions Trophy. It took India another 11 years after 2013 to win the ICC title.

In 2009, Dhoni-led India ended their wait and climbed to the top spot in the ICC Test rankings for the first time. Dhoni retired from Test cricket in 2014. He quit international cricket in 2020. Dhoni continues to play IPL and is a five-time IPL-winning captain. The Government of India has honoured Dhoni with Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.